Whatsup guys? Sorry for asking another civilian gun question, I know this is a military site and not meant for asking a bunch of civilian related weapon questions.
Anyway, as some of you read in my ".357 stopping power" thread, I've been looking for a pistol. I was talking to my Dad alot about it, and it's clear to me that he doesn't really want me to own a pistol until I'm 18 and can legally buy it (I'm from AL and can buy and carry at 18, according to the laws I've read online). Now, he didn't come out and say that "You can't have a pistol" or "I don't like the idea", but me and my Dad are very close and I can just tell he isn't real excited about me using a pistol. He has no problem whatsoever with me buying a long gun though (in his name of course). So, as we were talking, he told me one of his favorite pistols was a 9mm Beretta (I believe an M9? Like used in the military, and yes, I know of the problems with the magazines). He said he loves the way it felt in his hands, and was very high quality. That got me thinking to the time I went to a range/gunshop and got to use their Beretta CX4 storm. Nice little gun, very ergonomic and accurate in my opinion. Some of the thing I like about it is the fact that I could interchange the ammunition and possibly even the magazines (if I buy a Beretta) when I own my pistol, since it's a pistol caliber carbine. Also, it's very light, has picatinny (sp) rails built in for upgrades, and would work great for both plinking (primary use) and homedefense. What do you guys think about the gun? I may be overlooking something major that I haven't seen (magazine capacity could be an issue, which I'll get into next).
Basically, it comes in 9mm Luger, .40 S&W, and .45 auto. Which would be the best for homedefense and plinking? I'm thinking .40, but in a homedefense scenario, I don't want the bullets penetrating the bad guy and going into walls where my family could be, and I've heard bad things about 9mm doing that (going through the target). Honestly never shot a .45 round, so not sure if it runs the same risk. Magazine capacity is basically like this (range from stock to hicap mags)...9mm (14-17); .40 (10-11); .45 (8). For plinking, mag capacity obviously doesn't matter, so in a home defense scenario, is that enough rounds?
Just curious guys, thanks for any opionins and I apologize in advance if I shouldn't be asking questions like this on SP.

What kind of 'home defense' scenario can you envisage using more than 8 rounds, much less more than 14?

I don't know, that's why I'm asking if it's enough. Most people I've talked to prefer high capacity weapons, like 30 round AR-15's (which we own), for homedefense. We live in a great area with virtually no crime, but I can't justify buying a gun that would have a sole purpose of target practice and no personal defense attributes. To play up this scenario though, let's say 3-4 guys come to break into your house with murder on their minds...8 rounds may not be enough (obviously, an extremely wild scenario...and in that case the odds of survival are extremely low anyway, but that's the only scenario I can think of).

I understand this gun isn't optimal for home defense type of scenarios, but that isn't it's primary focus at all. I mainly want to take it to the range and shoot at different targets/distances and become profecient with it, along with eventually modifying it (I'm weird, I love working on things and improving them my way)... but since almost every round will have almost no noticeable recoil (since it's a pistol caliber carbine), I would like to get the best round for personal/home defense.

I dont know what to tell you about home defense (ove got an M92 beretta and ive got no complaints about it) but I can inform you that there is no problem with M92/M9 beretta magazines that are actually made by beretta. the military has had problems with their magazines because they decided to save money (which always comes back to bite ya in the butt) by having the magazines built by some other company (a small european company I think). the primary problem lies in the quality of the magazine springs, which for ORM Beretta made magazines means 15,000+ rounds before needing replacement, while the cheap mags that the military bought have defective springs that often fail after about 4,000 rounds.

The idea of home defense fascinates me. When was the last time that 3-4 strangers visited someone's house 'with murder in mind' ever? In the CONUS and not including military and law enforcement operations.

The idea of home defense fascinates me. When was the last time that 3-4 strangers visited someone's house 'with murder in mind' ever? In the CONUS and not including military and law enforcement operations.

And wouldn't a shotgun be vastly superior?

I think you are getting the wrong idea here. The scenario was ridiculous, but you asked for a scenario where more than 8 rounds is needed. I don't ever, ever think I'll have to use any gun in a homedefense capacity outside of the military or LE, I'm just saying that the gun would probably serve in that type of capacity (ie: keep it somewhere close at night in case and only in case someone breaks in). I love to shoot guns, especially anything that is of the tactical variety (I love our AR-15 and FAL), and 99% of the time those guns will only be used at the range, but if someone breaks in and resists, then those guns could be used in a home defense scenario (and this is extremely unlikely and hopefully will never ever happen). So let's not get sidetracked on this issue...I was curious what round would be best for personal/home defense, but by far the primary purpose of the gun is target practice.

The gun will also be used to modify. I love to make my stuff top of the line (whether it be adding upgrades to the engine in my gas powered car I had as a boy, and other things). I also love to tinker with things like that, as I like to think of myself as sort of a handy man : ) (example: while on vacation at our beach house in Florida, I noticed my cheap raft had a huge slash in it. Needless to say, I fixed it using Seal-all, Gorilla duct tape, and PVC cement glue over the duct tape to hold it down...I think I spent more on the stuff to fix the slash than the entire raft was worth lol, but I enjoyed fixing it) .

I dont know what to tell you about home defense (ove got an M92 beretta and ive got no complaints about it) but I can inform you that there is no problem with M92/M9 beretta magazines that are actually made by beretta. the military has had problems with their magazines because they decided to save money (which always comes back to bite ya in the butt) by having the magazines built by some other company (a small european company I think). the primary problem lies in the quality of the magazine springs, which for ORM Beretta made magazines means 15,000+ rounds before needing replacement, while the cheap mags that the military bought have defective springs that often fail after about 4,000 rounds.

Yeah, I read an article about all that in a gun magazine, but I was pretty sure someone would bring up the whole magazine issue in the thread.

I've always liked the Old West style set up of a carbine lever gun and revolver both shooting the same ammunition, so, like you, I think the Cx4 is a pretty neat idea.

For a plinker I'd say it's all good. Pistol ammunition tends to be cheaper than long gun ammo, assuming the same basic source/quality level (i.e. mil-surp long gun ammo might be cheaper than new pistol ammo, but it's apples and oranges), and pistol caliber carbines tend to be fun to shoot in quantity -- minimal recoil, etc. They're also good, due to the fun and low recoil angles, for new shooters to learn on, especially those who might be recoil phobic.

Downsides to the general idea, on the defensive side of things, is that the carbine length barrel does give you a little extra thump, as far as terminal ballistics, but you're still talking about a pistol bullet when it's all said and done. A lot of people would prefer a shotgun or something like a 5.56mm carbine, which can be had in formats that are not a whole lot bigger than the Cx4.

But on the other hand, I'm not much inclined to catch a 9mm, 40S&W, or 45 ACP round in the chest to demonstrate the statistical inferiority to bigger and more energetic rounds.

Bear in mind that the Cx4 is marketed set up to take magazines from three seperate Beretta pistols (I think you can buy inserts you can install yourself to change from one to the other), so if you are thinking about getting a Model 92 in 9mm or a Model 96 in 40S&W, I'd say save yourself minor headaches and make sure the Cx4 is not set up for Px4 or Beretta 8000 (? I think that's the other pistol it can share mags with). (Or check out the Px4 and see which suits you better on the handgun side before buying a Cx4.) Note also that I think the 45 ACP caliber Cx4s only work with the 45 cal Px4 pistols, you get more choices with the 9x19 and 40S&W.

I've always liked the Old West style set up of a carbine lever gun and revolver both shooting the same ammunition, so, like you, I think the Cx4 is a pretty neat idea.

For a plinker I'd say it's all good. Pistol ammunition tends to be cheaper than long gun ammo, assuming the same basic source/quality level (i.e. mil-surp long gun ammo might be cheaper than new pistol ammo, but it's apples and oranges), and pistol caliber carbines tend to be fun to shoot in quantity -- minimal recoil, etc. They're also good, due to the fun and low recoil angles, for new shooters to learn on, especially those who might be recoil phobic.

Downsides to the general idea, on the defensive side of things, is that the carbine length barrel does give you a little extra thump, as far as terminal ballistics, but you're still talking about a pistol bullet when it's all said and done. A lot of people would prefer a shotgun or something like a 5.56mm carbine, which can be had in formats that are not a whole lot bigger than the Cx4.

But on the other hand, I'm not much inclined to catch a 9mm, 40S&W, or 45 ACP round in the chest to demonstrate the statistical inferiority to bigger and more energetic rounds.

Bear in mind that the Cx4 is marketed set up to take magazines from three seperate Beretta pistols (I think you can buy inserts you can install yourself to change from one to the other), so if you are thinking about getting a Model 92 in 9mm or a Model 96 in 40S&W, I'd say save yourself minor headaches and make sure the Cx4 is not set up for Px4 or Beretta 8000 (? I think that's the other pistol it can share mags with). (Or check out the Px4 and see which suits you better on the handgun side before buying a Cx4.) Note also that I think the 45 ACP caliber Cx4s only work with the 45 cal Px4 pistols, you get more choices with the 9x19 and 40S&W.

Yeah, in a CQB type of situation (certainly not implying that I'm trained in CQB at all), I think the stopping power of those rounds is plenty, and obviously accuracy is the name of the game. I'm leaning on getting the 40 S&W round, because I think it's a great combination of low recoil (for plinking) and power (for home defense). What round do you prefer? Never shot a .40 or .45, so a little unsure of those rounds. Any modifications you'd make? I would probably add a EOTECH 522 (takes AA batteries I believe), because if it didn't work I could still use the iron sights. I would also consider a flashlight and foregrip, but I wouldn't want to make it super complicated either.

GOP, I wouldnt worry about sights where self defence is the issue. Just get what is best for target shooting.

If you are going to convince a jury you had to shoot someone in self defence, in a "them or you", scenario, they are going to be close enough to simply aim down the top like a shotgun. Even with the L85 and SUSAT, there is no need to actually use the sight in room clearing.